B.C. residential property assessments are down in several areas of Metro Vancouver affecting house prices throughout the region.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

Most homeowners in B.C. won't be seeing a huge jump in property value on their 2013 assessment. The assessments, just released today, are mostly stable, with some areas showing a drop of five per cent, or a rise of 10 per cent.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Vancouver Sun

Both buyers and sellers appear to be holding off, with home sales totals about 30 per cent below last year at this time and the number of new listings down 15 per cent from last December and numbering just half of the properties listed last November in Greater Vancouver, REBGV said. The Fraser Valley saw a drop of 25.4 per cent in sales numbers and a drop of three per cent in active listings from December last year.

“The last half of 2012 was like a Mexican standoff. Buyers kept hoping for greater price drops while sellers who didn’t have to sell just took their home off the market rather than lower their price,” said Scott Olson, president of the Fraser Valley’s Real Estate Board.

Realtor Larry Biggar said one of his clients did just that in November. The Richmond home had been for sale for about six months, and rather than lower the price any further, the couple decided to take the home off the market. They are in their late 60s and want to downsize to a condo, Biggar said. He said everyone who went through the home liked it, but that they all seemed to be waiting to see what would happen with prices.

“We watched the market slow down, and slow down, and slow down. ... It just got quieter and quieter,” said Biggar, who works with ReMax Westcoast. “Finally they said enough is enough. We really don’t have to sell. We can stall our plans if need be, although that’s not our first choice.”

Biggar said the couple will be putting their home back on the market soon, and although they have not discussed the asking price, it will probably be the same price it was when they took if off the market.

“My job is to show them that what they want to purchase will also have come down,” Biggar said. “They’re not investors, so as long as they can get on with their plans, and the dollar difference remains the same, then the plan works for them.”

Another listing Biggar had in the same neighbourhood sold recently after eight months on the market, and he said his phone has started ringing again this week, with mostly local people looking to buy.

“The last two weeks have been really busy,” Biggar said. “I’ve had a significant number of calls on condos. the resale condo market for us last year was very, very flat — there were just no first-time homebuyers, but they appear to be surfacing now at some rate.”

The home price index, which is a benchmark price for a typical home, is down 5.8 per cent from a peak of $625,000 in May 2012 to $590,800 in Metro Vancouver. In the Fraser Valley, the benchmark price was up 1.2 per cent compared to last December, but down 1 per cent compared to November 2012.

“We saw home prices come down a bit during the latter half of the year. During the same period, we saw fewer home sales and listings,” said Eugen Klein, REBGV president. He called the stall a “tug of war” between potential buyers and sellers.

“Sellers are saying we don’t need to sell and we want a certain price. Some buyers are expecting fantastic opportunities so they’re waiting for prices to drop further, but that’s not happening, so they’re not making any decisions,” Klein said, adding that a slowdown is expected after the past few years of significant price hikes and record sales numbers.

He said he doesn’t expect sales activity to change significantly in the next three months.

“It will take some inducement to get people off the sidelines. They need a real reason to buy or to sell. When that comes, then you will see the standoff change,” Klein said.

There were 1,142 home sales in Metro Vancouver in December, down 31.1 per cent from December 2011, while there were 1,380 new listings in December, down 15.3 per cent from December 2011.

Yesterday, B.C. Assessment sent out 2013 property assessments showing values dropping for the first time in many years, most notably in areas including the west side of Vancouver, Whistler, Pemberton, Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast.

The assessments, which reflect values as of July 1, 2012, showed the majority of property assessments remained stable, gaining or losing less than five per cent of last year’s assessment.

In Metro Vancouver, December sales were 38.4 per cent below the 10-year December sales average of 1,855, REBGV found. For the year, total residential sales numbered 25,032, a 22.7-per-cent drop from 2011 and an 18.2-per-cent drop from 2010.

For the year in Metro Vancouver, sales were one-quarter less than the ten-year average, while the number of listings was 6.1 per cent above the ten-year average for the region, REBGV said. The sales-to-listing ratio is the lowest it has been since 2009. In the Fraser Valley, sales for the year were down 10.6 per cent, while the number of new listings was down 1.8 per cent.

The sales slowdown appears to be affecting single-family homes, townhouses and apartments in slightly different ways.

Detached property sales were down more than one-third from both December 2011 and 2010, while the benchmark price for a detached property has dropped 6.5 per cent since the peak in May to $904,200, REBGV said. The benchmark price for a detached property is also down from last December by 2.7 per cent.

Apartment sales also dropped more than one-third from the last two Decembers, while the benchmark price dropped 12.8 per cent since the peak in May to $361,200. The benchmark price for an apartment is down 1.8 per cent from last December.

Townhouse sales volumes fell 16 per cent from December 2011 and 33.2 per cent from December 2010, while the benchmark price has dropped 4.4 per cent to $450,900 from the peak in April.

The map below shows the overall change in property assessment values in each city over the past year. The darker the colour, the more that city’s overall assessment increased. Click on a city for more details.

Click on the map below to explore the priciest homes in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The map shows the 100 most valuable residential properties according to BC Assessment in each of the Lower Mainland's four sub-regions: Vancouver-North Shore-Sea to Sky, North Fraser, South Fraser and Fraser Valley. Red dots are homes work more than $10 million, yellow dots those worth $4m-$10m, green dots those worth $2m-$4m and blue dots those worth less than $2m. Google Street View images are approximate and may not show the exact property in question.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Video

Best of Postmedia

Swoop has yet to pick up a single customer, but Canada’s newest ultra-low-cost carrier is already talking about expanding into a market that is just taking off. Launched by WestJet Airlines Ltd., Calgary-based Swoop started booking customers this month for flights that begin this summer connecting five Canadian cities. It is offering discounted fares on […]

Director Ryan Coogler admits he was surprised by the initial feedback he got from the bigwigs at Marvel Studios when he began sharing his vision for its next franchise, Black Panther. After all, he was set to make a $200-million epic blockbuster; a popcorn movie that mixed dazzling special effects, heart-stopping action sequences and sprawling […]

At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Mary Ormsby of the Toronto Star took one look at the fit, spandex-laden forms of the cross-country skiers and declared: “I have found my new sport.” Ormsby wasn’t a typical out-of-shape scribe. She had been an all-American volleyball player at Ohio State, so knew athletics from both sides. […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.